Improved gate-latch



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH LEONARD, OF WILMINGTON, OHIO.

IMPROVED GATE-LATCH.

Speciication forming part ot Letters Patent No. 48,292, dated June 20, 1865.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOsEPH LEONARD, of Wilmington, inthe county Ot' Clinton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Gate-Latch, and I do hereby declare that the following` is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable'those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specitication, in which Figure 1 is a side view ot' a gate having my invention applied to it; Fig. 2, an inner-side View of the post with which the gate catches, showing the notched plates attached thereto.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a new and improved latch or fastening for a gate, whereby the latter may be opened in either direction, inward or outward, and made to catch or tasten itself when closing in either direction.

The invention is an improvement On the ordinary lifting-latch, as will he seen from the following description.

Arepresents a gate, which may be construct ed in any proper manner and hung so asto swing in either direction-that is to say,either outward or inward. This gatehas two latches, 13B/,fitted in or to it,said latches being of the ordinary lifting kind and working at their inner ends on pintles or pins a, one latch being directly over the other and connected by a chain or cord, O, so that when the top latch, B, is raised the other one, B', will follow it. (See Fig. 1.) The upper latch, B, has a chain or co1d,l), attached to it, which passes over a pulley, b, and extends along laterally through a guide-strip, c, on the top rail or slat,'d, oi' the gate, and projects 'from its inner end.

E represents the post, which is at thefree or unhinged end of the gate whenthe latter is closed. This post E has two plates, F F', at-

tached to its'inner side, one above the other, and in line with the latchesBB. These plates are each provided with a notch, e, to receive the outer ends of the la ches as the gate closes, and the Lipper edges of these plates, at one side ot' the notches, are lower than at the opposite side, as shown atf,in order that a stop,g, may be formed to prevent the latches passing over the plates and thereby insurethe catching of the gate.A

The lower upper su1face,f, of one plate, F, is at the side ot' its notch opposite to that of' the other plate, F', as shown invFig. 2, and hence it will be seen that the gate, in closing, will bc arrested when closing from either direction, the lower plate, F', arresting the latch B' when the gate is closed in the direction indicated by ariow l,and the plate F arresting the latch B when the gate is closed in thedirection indicated by arrow 2.

Thus it will be seen that by this simpleme'ans a gate may be opened in either direction and made to catch or fasten itself when closed from either direction, and that the two latches, in openingthc gate, may beraised simultaneously by pulling a single chain or cord.

Iwould remark that one or both ofthe latches B B' may, if desired, have a spring,a,x, applied to-assist the dropping of the latches.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The two latches B B', connected a cord or chain, C, and applied to the gate A, as shown, in connection withfthe two notched plates F F', attached to the post F, and having, with respect to each other, their lower upper edges, j', at opposite sides of their notches c, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

JOSEPH LEONARD.

Witnesses:

JAMEs CRAWFORD, W. B. FISHER. 

